Disc drives are commonly used for data storage in computers such as desktop computers, notebook computers, servers and the like. Disc drives are also used in other applications, such as in consumer devices. Consumer devices that utilize disc drive storage include digital video recorders (DVRs), video game consoles and others. Small form disc drives are used in portable devices such as portable music players, portable video players, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the like. Other suggested applications for small form-factor disc drives include cell phones and portable data storage modules.
Even though disc drives are now used to store data in a variety of devices, disc drives are generally designed to meet the requirements of computers. However, the requirements of the end use device may differ than the requirements of a computer. For example, a disc drive adapted for a computer is configured to provide a low error rate, e.g., the disc drive will reread a portion of the media surface multiple times in attempt to recover unreadable data. However, recovering every bit of data is not necessary for audio or visual playback devices such DVRs and portable music players. In fact, the time it takes a disc drive to reread a portion of data storage media may cause a pause in the playback, creating an objectionable event for a user. In contrast, a small error in the data would likely be insignificant or even undetectable to a user. As this example illustrates, configuring disc drives according to a specific application may be useful to increase the performance of devices using disc drives.